Understanding Children, Yet Wanting Them to Grow Up a Bit

The cliché about children’s book writers is that they’re sensitive,
mewling types — wearers of cardigans, dispensing uplift as if it were
Purell hand sanitizer. The best, of course, from the Brothers Grimm through Roald Dahl and the brilliant Maurice Sendak, who died on Tuesday,
have always been exactly the opposite. Their stuff is anarchic and
verges on the nightmarish. These writers want children to take
themselves seriously. They want them to grow up a bit, starting now.Click HERE to read more from the New York Times.